What's the Role of a Male Partner?

Speaker 1
Well, I think the first thing
Speaker 2
I thought of was we kind of already do this. Like I get here to work a lot faster every day in a car than I would with my feet. Yes. And so there's something about technological innovation that is appropriate. Now, I think the hard cases are going to come in where you kind of decide, oh, I'd rather have a better arm. So you lop off the arm you got and you add in a different way. That's what he's talking about. Yeah. And I think that's the real meat of this question. And the answer to that seems to me to be human bodies have purposes that are sometimes apparent to us. And though we might be able to see that these kinds of technological advancements could amplify certain aspects of that purpose, it's not obvious to me that we can always know that everything that we're given these things for is going to be amplified by changing them. And so we need to trust that God has put us in the body that we're in. And that should be the kind of default, that we're not going to do this sort of thing, unless there's a clear case of challenge or difficulty, malformation, not because we just want to enhance. Now, that's a blurry line, I think, in certain cases. Can be. But I think there are very clear cases both directions. And so we need to not focus so much on the blurry ones, but on the very clear ones.
Speaker 1
Yeah. And I think the blurry ones are only a handful. That's right. And are pretty innocuous, in my judgment. This is not a place where it's blurry. Yes. In my opinion. And I think there's a difference between enhancement and treating disease, although some things do have dual uses that it's hard to do one and not the other. But I think here, I think we need to recognize that the goals of medicine are primarily the prevention of disease, disability, decay, and the dying process as best we can. The goals of medicine are designed to alleviate the effects of the general entrance of sin into the world. And some of the things like the strength of our arms, weightlifting notwithstanding, those are givens. Our biological sex is a given. Our eye color, hair color, those are givens. And I think what we are called to as fallible human beings that have limited lifespans, we are called to accept the givens of life as God's given them to us. And I think in general, to avoid enhancing otherwise normal traits in these kinds of radical ways. Now, I think some things are no harm, no foul. For example, I don't think, or crooked teeth, I don't think are a result of the entrance of sin. I would think orthodontics for cosmetic purposes is totally fine. And there are some that I think relate to combating aging, which is a result of the general entrance of sin, which I think are also okay. Now, this is probably a... We could have a whole subject on this, which we probably will. Thank you for your question, which you've generated an entire episode forthcoming on this. But that's the way I would see that. And I think in general, you know, I think we can, you know, of course we can drive cars, we don't have to walk. Right. So you'd be encouraged by that. Thank you. Yes. And there's lots of things that we, I think medical technology in general is God's good gift to help us flourish. But it's designed, I think, to alleviate those effects of the general entrance of sin. That's
Speaker 2
a good word. Well,
Speaker 1
this has been quite a conversation. We've covered a lot of ground today. It's been great. Tim, thank you so much for being with us. This is so terrific. And you've been so insightful, and just what I expected out of this. I appreciate
Speaker 2
that, Scott. Thanks for having me again. This
Speaker 1
has been the Weekly Cultural Update, part of the Think Biblically podcast, brought to you by Tablet School of Theology at Biola University, offering programs in Southern California and online, including programs in apologetics, philosophy, theology, spiritual formation, Old and New Testament, pastoral ministry, marriage and family therapy. I think I'm leaving one or two out, but that covers most of them. Visit biola.edu/Talbot in order to learn more. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to consider, please email us at thinkbiblicallyatbiola.edu. That's thinkbiblicallyatbiola.edu. If you enjoyed today's conversation, please give us a rating on your podcast app and share it with a friend. Join us on Tuesday for our conversation with Katie McCoy on the subject of how does gender ideology affect women? We look forward to seeing you then. Thanks so much for listening, and remember, think biblically about everything.

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